In focus: Diego Poyet

mkdons.com takes a look at the career so far of Diego Poyet, who has joined the Club on loan until the end of the season.

Born in Spain, Poyet – son of former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur star Gus – began his footballing career in England with Charlton Athletic.

He made his senior debut during an FA Cup victory over Oxford United in January 2014, alongside striker Simon Church and former Don Danny Green before being handed his first Championship start just 10 days later away at Wigan Athletic.

Poyet impressed in his league bow and he remained in Chris Powell’s starting line-up for the remainder of the campaign, helping the Addicks avoid relegation from the second tier.

His excellent form was not only recognised by his manager but also by the Charlton fans, who named him Player of the Year despite him only featuring in 23 matches and none before February.

Poyet’s contract expired that summer and the tenacious midfielder opted against extending his stay at the Valley, instead joining Premier League outfit West Ham United on a four-year deal.

His debut for the Iron came at the end of August, when he featured from the bench in a 3-1 triumph over Crystal Palace. A month later, Poyet made his first Premier League start away at Manchester United and impressed many during his 75 minutes on the field.

In order to get more first-team football, Poyet was loaned out to Huddersfield Town last November and he featured twice for the Terries in the Championship before returning to the Boleyn Ground and making a further two appearances for West Ham.

Last month, Poyet featured heavily in the Hammers’ Europa League qualifying campaign – making five appearances in total, including three starts.

As well as scoring the winning spot-kick in the 4-5 penalty shoot-out victory over Birkirkara FC, he also provided an assist for Manuel Lanzini in third-round tie against Astra Giurgiu.

Poyet was also among the substitutes for West Ham’s Premier League opener against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

At international level, Poyet has represented England at youth level but opted to switch his allegiances to Uruguay earlier this year.

He totalled a combined 13 caps for the Three Lions at Under-16 and Under-17 level before making his debut for Uruguay Under-20s this past March.

Poyet has so far earned seven caps for his country and was involved from the start in their four most recent Under-20 World Cup qualifiers.